Protective groin garment

ABSTRACT

A protective garment for use around the torso of a rider, includes an upper portion and a lower portion. The upper portion is adapted to fit around the torso of the rider, and the lower portion is adapted to fit between the legs of the rider. A generally triangular first end of the lower portion covers the groin area of the rider, and a second end of the lower portion is connected to the upper portion near the rear of the rider&#39;s torso.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

[0001] The present application is based on co-pending provisional Application No. 60/386,360 which was filed on Jun. 6, 2002.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0002] The present invention generally relates to a garment for protecting a rider and, more particularly, to a garment for protecting the groin area of a rider of motorcycles and horses.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0003] Individuals ride motorcycles and horses in all kinds of inclement weather including the cold, rain, snow, and sleet. In the past, riders have used a variety of techniques both individually and in combination, to protect their bodies and specifically the groin area, from the elements. Motorcycle riders, for example, have used various hardware accessories mounted to the motorcycle, such as wind and rain shields, splash guards and/or heaters. Similarly, riders have adapted their clothing to be better suited for inclement weather riding, including using clothing made of leather, using ponchos or rain gear and/or bodysuits.

[0004] Even though all of the above mentioned protective gear may be available and may aid in protecting the groin area, the rider may not use the gear because the gear may be unflattering, impractical to use with a certain type of motorcycle, too cumbersome or difficult to use, and/or it may not be aesthetically inline with the character the rider is attempting to portray. For example, the rider may not use a bodysuit or leather pants, because the bodysuit may be too big and bulky, it may be unflattering and cumbersome, and it may be too difficult to put on and take off. Similarly, the rider may not wear leather pants because they may be too expensive, they may be uncomfortable to wear, or they may be inappropriate to be worn at the rider's destination.

[0005] Chaps have been a good alternative to having shields and splash guards, and/or wearing leather pants and bodysuits. Chaps in general provide adequate protection to the rider's legs, are easy to put on and take off, and are aesthetically beneficial. Unfortunately, chaps only cover the rider's legs and do not provide protection to the groin area. During inclement weather, this may be very uncomfortable and unsafe. In the past, riders have attempted to solve this problem by adding a piece of material or leather over the groin area in combination with the chaps. The addition of the piece of material or leather, however, has not solved all the issues at hand. The piece of material or leather, for example, has to be attachable to either a belt and/or the chaps, thereby requiring an integral fastening mechanism. Similarly, the amount of time required to put on and take off the piece of material or leather makes the piece of material or leather impractical to utilize. Furthermore, the lack of aesthetic benefit and/or the lack of comfort the piece of material or leather provides may restrict and even discourage a rider from wearing it. Therefore, there still remains a need for a garment that protects the groin area of the rider, that has aesthetic appeal, is practical to wear, and is accepted by the motorcycle rider community.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0006] In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, a protective garment for part of the torso area of a rider is disclosed. The garment includes a generally elongate upper portion and a lower portion. The upper potion is adapted to fit around the torso of a rider, and the lower portion includes a generally triangular first end adapted to connect to the upper portion near the front of the user's torso, and a second end adapted to connect to the upper portion near the rear of the user's torso.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007]FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a partially open protective garment for a motorcycle rider; and

[0008]FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the protective garment of FIG. 1, in a closed configuration.

[0009] While the method and device described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrative embodiments thereof are shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail. However, there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention and the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0010] Referring to the drawings, and with specific reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a protective garment for a motorcycle rider, as constructed in accordance with the teachings of the disclosure, is generally depicted by reference numeral 20. As shown therein, the protective garment 20 includes an inner surface 22, an outer surface 24, a front portion 26, a rear portion 28, a retaining portion 30, and fastening members 32.

[0011] The protective garment 20 may be worn such that the inner surface 22 of the protective garment 20 is facing toward the rider, and the outer surface 24 of the protective garment 20 is facing away from the rider. The inner surface 22 and the outer surface 24 may each be the front and back of a single piece of material respectively, or the inner 22 and outer 24 may each be a respective side from two separate pieces of material. The protective garment 20, for example, may be made entirely from leather, wherein one side of the leather faces toward the rider and the other side of the leather faces away from the rider. The inner surface 22 of the protective garment 20 may, however, be suede and the outer surface 24 of the protective garment 20 may be vinyl. Other materials that may be used to manufacture the protective garment 20, include, but are not limited to, various genuine and imitation forms of leather, suede, cotton, wool, sheep skin, silk, and plastics, SPANDEX® material, denim, or any other material suitable for its intended purpose. In yet another example, the inner surface 22 and the outer surface 24 of the protective garment 20, may include of two or more materials that may differ between the various portions of the protective garment 20. For example, the inner surface 22 of the front portion 26 may be constructed using a faux suede material, whereas the outer surface 24 of the front portion may be constructed using a vinyl material. Similarly, the remainder of the protective garment 20 may include cotton on the inner surface 22 of the rear portion 28 and the retaining portion 30, and may include leather on the outer surface 24 of the rear portion 28 and the retaining portion 30.

[0012] The front portion 26 may be generally triangular in shape, having a top side 34, a first diagonal side 36, and a second diagonal side 38. The front portion 26 may be adapted to cover the general groin area of the rider and may, depending on the size of the rider and the size of protective garment 20, cover an area remaining exposed between a pair of chaps, if chaps are worn. The front portion 26 of the protective garment 20 may be sized such that the top side 34 of the front portion 26, when worm by the rider, may be located near the lower abdomen, thereby also providing protection to an area located between a jacket and the groin area. A first end of fasteners 32 may be located on the inner surface 22 of the top side 34 of the front portion 26, and will be described in greater detail below.

[0013] The first diagonal side 36 and the second diagonal side 38, of the front portion 26 may each extend from opposite ends of the top side 34 toward a bottom end 40 of the front portion 26, thereby completing the generally triangular shape of the front portion 26. The first diagonal side 36 and the second diagonal side 38 may each be angled relative to the top side 34, in manner to provide the rider with as much protection and coverage as possible, without creating excessive bunching of the front portion 26 between the legs of the rider.

[0014] The bottom end 40 of the front portion 26 may be attached to a first end 42 of the rear portion 28, and second end 44 of the rear portion 28 may be attached to the retaining portion 30. The rear portion 28 may be a uniform strip long enough to connect the bottom end 40 of the front portion 26 to the retaining portion 30, located between the legs and around the buttocks of the rider. The shape of the rear portion 28 may also be altered to better fit the rider, or to make the protective garment 20 more aesthetically pleasing. The rear portion 28, for example, may be more slender in the area immediately in front of, between, and behind the legs, to prevent the bunching of the rear portion 28. The rear portion 28 may also increase in width toward the second end 44 of the rear portion 28, to make the protective garment 20 more aesthetically pleasing, and to provide more surface area for the application of one or more decorative or wear-resistant patches.

[0015] The second end 44 of the rear portion 28, may attach between a first end 46 of the retaining portion 30 and a second end 48 of the retaining portion 30, near the center of the retaining portion 30. The retaining portion 30 may be formed of one or more sections. For example, the retaining portion 30 may include a first section (not shown) attached to the second end 44 of the rear portion 28 and a second section (not shown) also attached to the second end 44 of the rear portion 28, such that unattached ends of the first and second sections are the first end 46 and the second end 48 of the retaining portion 30.

[0016] The retaining portion 30 may be a belt-like device designed to retain the protective garment 20 on the rider by connecting the rear portion 28 to the front portion 26 and by tightening the retaining portion 30 around the rider such that the tightness of the retaining portion 30 prevents the protective garment from falling off. The retaining portion 30 may be a uniform strip long enough to encompass the torso of the rider and may be long enough to properly fasten the retaining portion 30 to the front portion 26. The retaining portion, like the rear portion, need not be uniform in width, but may be formed of a variety of widths to achieve various goals. For example, the retaining portion 30, may be wider toward the center of the retaining portion 30, where the front portion 26 is attached, and may be more slender near the sides of the rider, to both make the protective garment 20 more aesthetically pleasing and to make the protective garment 20 more comfortable for the rider to wear. The retaining portion 30 may also be larger in the area near the rider's kidneys, to give more protection to that part of the body, or may be wider all around, to once again enable the attachment one or more decorative or wear resistant patches to the protective garment 20.

[0017] The means of attachment between the front portion 26 and the rear portion 28, between the rear portion 28 and the retaining portion 30, and between the first and second section of retaining portion 30, may vary greatly, and may employ any of a variety of technologies. The means of attachment may include, but is not limited to, sewing the portions together, riveting the portions together, and/or manufacturing one or more of the portions from one contiguous piece, or any other viable means of attaching the relative portions and/or sections together.

[0018] Located near the first and second ends 46 and 48, respectively, of the retaining portion 30, are one or more fasteners 32 adapted to fasten the retaining portion 30 to the front portion 26. The retaining portion 30 may have fasteners on only one of the first end 46 or the second end 48, because the other of the first end 46 or the second end 48 may already be fixedly attached to the front portion 26. Similarly, there may be no fasteners 32 at all, in which case, the protective garment 20 may be held in place by the material used (e.g., by tying a knot in the material), or by an elastic cord, or the like. The type of fasteners 32 used may once again be of a great variety. The type of fasteners 32, may include, but are not limited to, hook and loop such as VELCRO® hook and loop fasteners, buttons, zippers, latch and key, snaps, or any other fastener suitable for the purpose.

[0019] In one example, the top side 34 of the front portion 26 may have attached to the inner surface 22 one or more first parts 50 of fasteners 32, adapted to engage with one or more second parts 52 of the fasteners 32. Located on the outer surface 24 of the first end 46 and the second end 48 of the retaining portion 30, may be one or more of the second parts 52 of the fasteners 32. To engage the first and second parts 50, 52 of the fasteners 32, the first end 46 and the second end 48 of the retaining portion 30 may be wrapped around the rider's torso, such that the outer surface 24 of the first end 46 and the second end 48 abuts the inner surface 22 of the top side 34 of the front portion 26, thereby allowing the first and second parts 50, 52 of the fasteners 32 to engage. In another example, the front portion 26 may have attached on the inner surface 22 one or more of the first parts 50 of the fasteners 32, adapted to engage with one or more of the second parts 52 of the fasteners 32. The second end 48 of the retaining portion 30 may have attached on the outer surface 24 one or more of the second parts 52 of the fasteners 32, and may have attached on the inner surface 24 one or more of the first parts 52 of the fasteners 32. On the outer surface 24 of the first end 46 of the retaining portion 30 may be attached one or more of the second parts 52 of the fasteners 32. To engage the first and second parts 50, 52 of the fasteners 32, the outer surface 24 of the second end 48, having one or more of the second parts 52, may engage with the one or more of the first parts 50 of the fasteners 32 attached to the inner surface 22 of the top side 34 of the front portion 26. The outer surface 24 of the first end 46, having attached thereto one or more of the second parts 52, may now be engaged with the inner surface 24 of the second end 48, having attached thereto one or more of the first parts 50 of the fasteners 32.

[0020] In operation, the motorcycle rider may wear the protective garment 20 for a number of reasons and in a number of ways, and the protective garment may be worn with or without chaps. In use, the protective garment 20 is intended to be worn such that the front portion 26 covers the rider's groin area, which may be best accomplished by wearing the protective garment 20 around the rider's torso, and more specifically, around the rider's waist. The protective garment 20, during use, may not only protect the rider's groin area but may also, depending on the location of the retaining potion 30, protect other parts of the rider's anatomy, such as the rider's kidneys, etc.

[0021] The protective garment 20 is generally made of material that is readily foldable, or at least able to be made compact in size, by either folding or rolling. The rider is, therefore, able to store or carry the protective garment 20 in any of a number of small compartments, pockets, or places, which are easily accessible to the rider when the rider. decides to wear the protective garment 20. The protective garment 20 is also a single unitary piece able to be worn independent of chaps or other clothing or clothing related items, such as a belt or belt loops. If worn with chaps, the protective garment 20 need not be dependent on the type, size or style of chaps, but may be worn with any and all types, sizes and styles. The protective garment 20 may also be worn over or under the chaps, depending on the needs and desires of the rider. The rider, for example, may embark on a long ride where the rider may decide to wear the protective garment 20 under the chaps, thereby attempting to eliminate any gaps or air passageways between the protective garment 20 and the chaps. If the rider is going on a shorter ride, or if the rider intends to make several stop along the ride, the rider may decide to wear the protective garment 20 over the chaps, thereby enabling the rider to quickly and easily put on or take off the protective garment 20.

[0022] The protective garment 20 may also serve as an additional place for decorative patches, pins or the like. As is well known, members of the motorcycle community place decorative patches and pins in variety of places. For example, pins and patches may be placed on hats, vests, jackets, bags and bandannas for any number of reasons, and the additional area for the patches and pins, provided for by the protective garment 20, would be an aesthetic benefit.

[0023] The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, as modifications may be apparent to those skilled in the art. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A protective garment comprising: a generally elongate upper portion adapted to fit around the torso of a user over an outer layer of clothes; and a lower portion having a generally triangular first end adapted to be connected to the generally elongate upper portion near the front of the user's torso, and a second end adapted to be connected to the generally elongate upper portion near the rear of the user's torso.
 2. The protective garment of claim 1, wherein a hook and loop fastener connects the generally triangular first end to the generally elongate upper portion.
 3. The protective garment of claim 1, wherein the generally triangular first end is sized to cover the user's groin area.
 4. The protective garment of claim 1, wherein the generally triangular first end is sized to cover an area of the user's torso between a pair of chaps.
 5. The protective garment of claim 1, wherein a majority of the garment is constructed from one of a suede and leather material.
 6. The protective garment of claim 1, wherein the lower portion has an inside surface including one of a wool or cotton material.
 7. A protective garment comprising: an upper section having an elongate retaining portion, wherein the elongate retaining portion is adapted to fit around the waist of a user over an outer layer of clothes, the elongate retaining portion including a first end, a second end, and a center section therebetween, wherein at least one of the first and second ends includes a first fastening portion; and a lower section having an elongate connecting portion, wherein the connecting portion is adapted to fit between the legs of the user, the elongate connecting portion including a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is connected near the center section of the retaining portion, the second end includes a generally triangular portion adapted to cover the groin of the user, and a second fastening portion adapted to connect to the first fastening portion.
 8. The protective garment of claim 7, wherein the fastening portions include hook and loop fasteners.
 9. The protective garment of claim 7, wherein a majority of the garment is constructed from one of a suede and a leather material.
 10. The protective garment of claim 7, wherein the generally triangular portion has an inside surface constructed at least in part from one of a wool and a cotton material.
 11. A protective garment comprising: an elongate retaining portion having an inside surface, an outside surface, a first end, a second end, and a center section, wherein the elongate retaining portion is adapted to fit around the waist of a user over an outer layer of clothes, the outside surface of the first end including a first fastener, the inside surface of the second end including a second fastener adapted to engage the first fastener, and the outside surface of the second end including a third fastener adapted to engage a fourth fastener; and an elongate connecting portion including a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is connected near the center section of the retaining portion, and the second end includes a generally triangular portion adapted to cover the groin of the user, and the fourth fastener.
 12. The protective garment of claim 11, wherein the fasteners are hook and loop fasteners.
 13. The protective garment of claim 11, wherein a majority of the garment is constructed from one of a suede and a leather material.
 14. The protective garment of claim 11, wherein the generally triangular portion has an inside surface constructed at least in part from one of a wool and a cotton material.
 15. A method of fitting a protective garment on a user's torso comprising: providing the protective garment, including a generally elongate upper portion having a first end, a second end, and a center section therebetween, and a lower portion having a generally triangular portion near a first end and a second end; placing the generally elongate upper portion around the user's torso, such that the first and the second end of the generally elongate upper portion overlap; placing an inside surface of the first end of the elongate upper portion against the user; placing an inside surface of the second end of the elongate upper portion against an outside of the first end of the elongate upper portion; engaging fasteners located on the outside of the first end of the elongate upper portion with fasteners located on the inside surface of the second end of the elongate upper portion; placing an inside surface of the generally triangular portion against an outside surface of the second end of the elongate upper portion; and engaging fasteners located on the outside of the second end of the elongate upper portion with fasteners located on the inside surface of the second end of the generally triangular portion. 